Jason Eckert is the Dean of Technology at triOS College. When Dean Eckert is also one of the instructors in our Technology programs. Originally from Cambridge, Ontario, Jason has been teaching with triOS for over 20 years now and can be found meeting with students and internship hosts, administering and supporting the Web servers used to host student projects and portfolios, facilitating engaging events, and more. When he’s not working on development projects, private clouds, and writing textbooks for various publishers, Jason makes time to contribute to his blog, restore classic arcade machines, and collect vintage computers. Today he provides insight into the rapidly growing Technology field.

1. A lot of people may have heard the term Dean, but you don’t hear much about the title, what does a Dean do?

The Dean role can vary tremendously from college to college and over time. Today, most of what I do involves teaching Information Technology (IT) classes, coaching instructors, and performing curriculum development. However, I’ve performed a wide variety of different tasks in the past, including procuring and driving student events (hackathons, game competitions), giving talks at high schools and industry-related events, meeting with employers and internship hosts, and participating in various tech education committees and conferences.

2. As the Dean of Technology, how do you help keep the programs under your faulty up to date?

Yes, a large part of my current role is maintaining and updating the curriculum for our IT programs, as well as overseeing the curriculum changes for our Application Development programs.

3. Does someone interested in a program in the Technology faculty have to have a lot of industry experience?

While it certainly helps, you don’t need prior industry experience to succeed in any program in our Technology faculty. Good work ethic, a bit of tenacity, and ample time to practice key technologies outside of class often have a far greater impact on success than prior experience.

4. What do employers like about triOS graduates?

They most appreciate our students’ hands-on technical knowledge, as well as their resourcefulness when it comes to solving problems (i.e. the technical mindset).

5. What would you say to someone thinking about Technology as a second career?

If you have a lot of on-job experience you’re going to find that there are a lot of things that we do in any of our programs that fill in big gaps, small gaps in your own understanding, and take it to a level that you didn’t see when you were working with that type of technology before.

6. What are some skills aspiring technology professionals can work on right now?

My best advice for anyone looking to get into a technical career is to first talk with those working in the industry. Ask them what they love about their career, as well as the technologies they work with and tasks they perform. Next, spend some time researching those technologies on the Internet to learn more about what they do, how they are configured, and the problems they solve. The technology world is a large and diverse landscape – by exploring this landscape as much as you can, you’ll make the most out of your educational career as well as pinpoint the types of technical jobs you wish to pursue.

7. What tips do you have for new students?

Keep your mind open and use a lot of Google.

8. Why should someone choose triOS College over a public school?

Well, there are many reasons you’d want to enroll in triOS instead of a public school and the main reason is that we’re non-semester, which means that you take courses one course at a time in logical order and that allows you to learn technical topics a lot easier and it also allows you to go into those topics in a lot more depth.

9. What do you love about teaching at triOS College?

I love being able to show people how different technologies work and apply them to a real-world situation and then have it click.

10. What are some of the jobs your former students are doing now?

It is a wide variety of careers, anything from Help Desk Support to High-End Server and Cloud Administration to Cyber Security, to Application Development to Mobile App Development to Server Site Development.

11. If you could have anyone in the world on your speed-dial who would it be?

I would definitely say, Bill Gates.

12. Does pineapple go on Pizza?

Yes. Definitely pineapple on pizza, I actually got hired because of that.

Learn more about Technology at triOS here: Technology Programs.